The Love of Two Selfless People
by IceMaize
Summary: He missed her smile. He missed hearing her voice. Now, he wants to change their relationship. However, bringing back his friends' love for basketball is now his top priority, as well as hers. So, they will not hasten their relationship. They will bring back what was once loved and they will look at their own lives then. (Previously named 'The Top Priority of Two Selfless People)
1. Chapter 1

Note: I'm sorry if they're acting a little out of character. Please tell me if they do. I'll try to fix it in the future. So, new story, same characters! Please enjoy, my dear readers!

* * *

Acting on a whim, he typed on his phone, 'Momoi-san, are you free right now? I want to talk to you.'

He immediately sent it, and just stared at the notification, 'Message sent' like it was some foreign words he didn't understand.

_Why did I do that?_

Had spending hours at home alone took a toll on him? He felt lonely at times, but he couldn't help it. His parents were on a business trip and there were times when he suddenly felt the urge to call someone, and she was the first choice. Of course, he had never done so, managing to suppress the urge.

His phone rang, and he opened the message immediately.

'Tetsu-kun!' A heart shape there. 'I am! I am!' Two or three smiley faces there. 'What do you want to talk about?' A few more faces smiling widely.

He smiled. It was as if he could hear her voice. So excited and cheerful. He read the message again and thought that maybe she misunderstood him. Ignoring the fact he was somehow eager to hear her voice, he dialled her number and put the ear against his ear.

Not even two rings had sounded and she already picked up his call.

"Good afternoon, Momoi-san," he said. He leaned back onto the wooden bench he was sitting on and looked at the cherry blossoms blooming in front of him.

"Tetsu-kun! Why did you call me?" She said excitedly as she stopped what she was doing and concentrated fully at the conversation.

When she had received the message, she felt so happy that she squealed so loud and jumped around like a little girl. He hadn't contacted her since Teiko's Graduation Day, and she had secretly saved her number in his phone, and his in hers. She'd never thought that he would be the first to start their very first conversation.

"I just wanted someone to talk to. Am I bothering you, Momoi-san?" He said calmly, the smile still on his face. Honestly, he didn't know whether if that was the reason or he just wanted to hear her voice.

"No, no! Of course not! So what did you want to talk about?" She said as she twirled her hair repeatedly with her fingers.

"I'm fine with anything." He grew silent for a moment. "Are you home?" He said, finding nothing to converse about.

Momoi hummed happily in response and asked, "How about you?"

"I'm at the park nearby my home. The cherry blossoms are really pretty, aren't they?"

"Yeah," she replied as she looked at the cherry blossom shown on the television which was muted.

They said nothing for a moment. Kuroko looked at his watch, around five o'clock. Was it considered late to be inviting her for a drink? He shrugged. If you never try, you'll never know. After all, seeing her would be better than just hearing her voice.

"Momoi-san, would you like to get a drink with me?" He blurted out.

"Eh?" Momoi stopped her hair-twirling activity and blinked her eyes for a few times. It took a while for the invitation to digest and she stayed silent for a long while.

"Momoi-san?"

She stuttered at first and hurriedly said, "Yes! Yes! Yes, of course!"

Kuroko smiled. They decided to meet up at a café and Kuroko decided to go back home to change his clothes. It tended to get chilly when nearing the night. As he put on his shoes, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and saw that it was a call from Momoi. He tilted his head slightly, curious.

"Momoi-san?"

"Tetsu-kun, I'm so sorry! My maid said that my parents told her not to let me out of the house alone… I don't think I'll be able to make it, I'm so so sorry!" Momoi said, her voice evidently expressing her sadness.

"It's alright, Momoi-san." He thought for a while as he hummed. "Ah, I have an idea. Would it be possible for you to go out if I picked you from your house?"

She said excitedly, "Yes! Thank you, Tetsu-kun!"

* * *

He was wearing dark brown jeans with a white turtleneck and an opened grey jacket. It took him about half an hour to reach her house, and he stood outside, waiting patiently for her. Just thinking of being able to see her again made him smile.

She came out in a minute, carrying a small handbag with her, and Kuroko watched her as she waved back to the people in her house and jogged slightly towards him, smiling brightly. She was wearing very light blue leggings with mid-thigh shorts, knee-length boots, and a pink long-sleeved blouse with a white overcoat.

"Tetsu-kun!" She said as she hugged him tightly.

"Momoi-san," he greeted in return.

She let go after a few moments and stood in front of him with a bright smile on her face. She made a twirl and asked, "How do I look?"

She twirled and looked at Kuroko. He said, "Pretty as always, Momoi-san."

As she squealed, the only thing that crossed Kuroko's mind was how he was able to say those words as if on a daily basis.

Momoi rubbed her hands together and breathed out at them to provide heat. She looked at Kuroko and said, "It's a bit windy, isn't it?"

Kuroko hummed and said, "I'm glad I changed into my turtleneck. Are you feeling cold?"

She gave a toothy smile, and it made her look a little childish, and cute too. Kuroko couldn't help but wear a small smile. "No, not really."

"So your parents aren't home?" Kuroko asked, remembering what she told him through the phone.

"Yeah, they're busy with their work. They usually come back around nine or ten…or later," she said as she shrugged and clasped her hands behind her back. "How about you?"

"They usually come home around dinner time and spend their whole time in the office reviewing documents. But they always go on business trips during the holidays so usually it's just me only," he replied and placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

The walk to the café took about twenty minutes and they decided to eat dinner together, seeing as it was nearly six. They sat at a table for two by the glass window where they could see the outside and Kuroko took off his jacket while Momoi took off her coat. Momoi absolutely _loved _what he was wearing. He looked more mature, and it was also nice to see him wear something else other than just a polo shirt with jeans. Of course, when he wore those, he still looked as handsome as ever.

While waiting for their food to arrive, Momoi took in her surroundings. Comfortable red cushion chairs were used, the lighting and the use of candles made the mood romantic. She saw a piano at one corner of the café, and a chandelier placed in the middle of the room.

She said softly, "A piano."

Kuroko followed her gaze and said, "I didn't know that you knew how to play the piano, Momoi-san."

She smiled shyly. "Well… I'm not really that good."

Kuroko looked around. Seeing as there wasn't man people around, he encouraged her to play the piano. Momoi declined, saying how embarrassing and awkward it would be. She seemed like she wouldn't change her decision so he shrugged it off and drank his drink.

"This place is one of my favourite places," Kuroko said as he looked out the glass window and rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

Momoi leaned forward slightly and said, "Really? The place is so romantic!"

"Yes, it is. I always come here during cold days."

Their food came, and as they ate, they talked. They talked of the fun times, the times when spending time together was something looked forward to and something fun. It was completely different to what they were now, and what they used to be then.

When they wanted to leave, they both stood up and before Momoi could reach her jacket, Kuroko, already wearing his jacket, said, "Let me."

Momoi just stood there, not understanding what he meant. She saw him walked to her seat and take her jacket off her chair. At that moment, she completely understood what he meant and felt the heat on her face growing.

What a gentleman. She smiled excitedly as she slid her hands into the sleeves.

_He just makes me love him even more!_

When Kuroko was done helping her wear her jacket, he stood in front of her and gave a small smile. He had always wanted to do that. Whether the urge was just for her, he didn't know.

"Momoi-san, if it's not too much trouble," he said with such a gentle tone that Momoi could feel her face heating up, "would you want to watch the cherry blossoms with me? The view is extremely beautiful during the night."

Her face lit up, and with a wide smile, she said, "Yes!"

They decided not to go to the festival, thinking that they would be a lot of people, and decided to go to a park where there were some small stalls set up.

When they arrived at the park, there were about thirty people around and – to Momoi's surprise – there were more stalls than she had imagined. There was laughter everywhere and she could see some people eating grilled meat and rice balls dyed pink.

"Amazing…" She muttered softly, and Kuroko only smiled.

Momoi looked everywhere, amazed by her surroundings, as they walked around the area. When Momoi saw a game stall where the players had to shoot a number of things displayed to get a prize, she hugged Kuroko's arm, pointed to the stall while saying, "Look, Tetsu-kun! It's that game we all used to play"

Kuroko looked at where she was pointing, and memories of his time spent with them appeared in his mind immediately. He replied, "Ah, you're right."

Laughter echoed in his mind as he looked at Momoi who was looking at the stall with a gentle smile on her face. Somehow, he couldn't stop himself from giving out a small smile.

"Momoi-san," he said to catch her attention. "Shall we play it together?"

The expression on her face screamed 'yes' and Momoi grabbed his hand and dragged him to the stall. The expression on her face could not make Kuroko any more happier. After the game, they went on and Kuroko saw a game stall which had a pair of bracelets as the prize.

He called out to Momoi. "Do you like those bracelets?"

"Yes! It's so pretty!"

The game stall manager smiled at them. "Young man, why don't you try winning the prize for your lovely girlfriend right there? Those bracelets are meant for couples, and I know you'll be able to win it."

Kuroko looked at the dart board and said, "You think I'll really be able to win it?"

"Yes, of course! Just make sure all the darts go to the centre! You see the two circles there? Just hit that spot for three times and the prize is all yours!" The middle-aged man said enthusiastically.

Kuroko turned to look at Momoi who was blushing furiously and looking like she was waiting for her confession to get answered. Although curious, he didn't ask anything and looked back at the dartboard.

He sighed and looked at the manager. "But I've never played darts before. Don't you think hitting the centre would be impossible?"

The manager only replied, "It always goes down to luck, young man. So you want to take a chance?"

Kuroko thought for a moment. "How about I hit all three darts to the black area to get the prize? It'll make it more fair for me."

The manager hummed and after a moment, he nodded his head. He passed the darts to Kuroko after receiving the payment and Kuroko turned to look at Momoi.

He remembered what his father always did before he started throwing darts at the bar. He'd look at his mother and say, "Kiss for luck?"

He called out to Momoi.

His mother always complied by blowing him a kiss. Then he would laugh and shoot it.

When Momoi looked at him, he smiled.

_"Kiss for luck?"_

"Wish me luck."

Momoi smiled widely and pumped her fist up and down while saying, "Go, Tetsu-kun! You can do it!"

He threw the first. Then the second. The third next. It all hit the black area. He looked at the manager and claimed his prize. He saw that the bracelets were pink and red, so he asked whether the manager had a blue set. The manager took out a blue set, and Kuroko asked whether he could take one blue and the other pink. When the manager looked like he was about to say something, Kuroko took out some notes from his pocket and thanked him.

He put the bracelets on Momoi's palm and she said, "Thank you, Tetsu-kun! You're the best!"

"You're welcome, Momoi-san."

She looked closely at the two bracelets. She looked up when she heard Kuroko say, "Shall we go find somewhere to sit?"

She nodded and smiled. As they walked, she blushed again, remembering what the manager had said.

_ "...winning the prize for your lovely girlfriend right there?..."_

It was the first time anyone had ever called her that, had _assumed _that they were both in that kind of relationship. She tried to fight back a smile and looked away from Kuroko so he couldn't see what she was doing. What had made her blush like that just now was that he didn't deny it.

Was it because he was concentrated in the game? Or...?

"Momoi-san, we can sit here," Kuroko said as he sat down on a bench.

She followed suit and sat next to him. After a while, she said, "Erm, Tetsu-kun, why don't you have one of the bracelets?"

Kuroko only looked back at her and Momoi hurried said, "I - I mean, you _did _win it. You should have one."

Kuroko nodded and gave a small smile. "If that's what you want."

She held out her palm with the two bracelets on it. It was indeed a couples' bracelets. Both had the infinity sign as its pendant. He was about to take one when he stopped and asked, "Should I take the blue one?"

Momoi appeared shocked and it made him wonder why. She looked away for a moment. "I kind of wanted the blue one... Since it reminds me of Tetsu-kun."

Kuroko nodded as he said, "Ah, I see."

He tried so hard to prevent a smile from surfacing.

"Then I'll take the pink one. Thank you, Momoi-san."

Momoi smiled like she just received the greatest news ever. "I should be the one saying that, Tetsu-kun! _Thank you!_"

They both put on their bracelets on their left hands and looked at the cherry blossoms. It was indeed, very beautiful.

"I still can't believe you managed to win it. I never knew you were good at dart games," Momoi said.

"I'm not exactly good. My father used to play and he has one in his office so I play it occassionally."

"That means...you lied!" Momoi said, slightly shocked.

"...Yes, I did," he admitted while looking away. "But it was impossible for me to hit the centre. So if I hadn't said that, I wouldn't be able to win these." He lifted his left hand and shook it, making the bracelet chain jingle.

Momoi smiled. "I guess so."

* * *

Kuroko stood facing her, in front of her house. Before she decided to go in, she said, "So, it's just a few more days before school starts, huh?"

Kuroko leaned against the fence. "Yeah."

Momoi said nothing for a while. She called out to him. "Are you going to join a basketball club?"

"...I haven't decided."

Momoi looked at the ground, feeling slightly sad.

"But most probably, I'll be joining it."

She looked up, eyes widened as she looked at Kuroko who was looking at the sky while smiling. She grinned, "That's great!"

_We'll still be connected._

Suddenly, they heard a woman's voice call Momoi's name. Momoi looked at Kuroko with a dejected expression, "Ah, that's my maid. I need to go in now."

Kuroko stood in front of her. "Well, I'm sure if you're out any later, she'll call the cops."

Momoi couldn't help giggling.

"Have a good night, Momoi-san."

"You too, Tetsu-kun."


	2. Chapter 2

Note : This is not a one-shot. Nor a two or three-shot. I am hoping to keep this story going until Kuroko no Basuke ends. Thank you for the reviews, loved readers! Even though a little shorter than the first, I hope you all will enjoy this chapter as well. (They might be a bit OOC...)

* * *

"Midorin! How was the match? Did Tetsu-kun win? Or did he lose? Midorin!" She asked with an excited tone.

Midorima, holding the phone away from his ear, replied with an exasperated tone, "Momoi, if you wanted to know the results, you could have came to the match yourself."

"Ahh, I wanted to but -"

His sigh interrupted her. "I'll send you his number. So call him yourself." Without waiting for her reply, he ended the call and sent her Kuroko's number.

Momoi just stared at the number on her phone with a pout on her face. She walked up to her room while saying aloud, "It's not like I don't have Tetsu-kun's number! Sheesh, Midorin could have just told me who won."

She lied on her bed, and put the phone to her ear after dialling Kuroko's number. Her heart was already pounding so furiously even before she called his number. It was after the second ring when he picked up and Momoi couldn't confine her excitement.

"Tetsu-kun!" She ignored the loud beatings of her heart which was the only thing in her head. "How was the match? Did you win? How was it?"

The streams of questions made him smile and shake his head as if he was dealing with an over-excited child. "Wewon. Kagami-kun and I managed to win with an alley-oop."

The beating of Momoi's heart was getting softer, and she felt extremely happy she would be able to hear his voice more clearly. "Alley-oop, huh? Man, I wish I was there! I've never seen you do an alley-oop with anyone before!"

Kuroko just hummed in response. "Well, I never thought it would really work, since I've never need to do it before."

Momoi could imagine his face right now; looking down at nothing, his eyes softened, and feeling utterly pathetic. She didn't like what she was imagining.

"Let's celebrate it!" She blurted out.

Kuroko smiled on the other side of the phone. "Sure. Will this Saturday be fine with you?"

As he listened to her voice, gratefulness filled him and he couldn't thank Momoi more.

_Thank you, Momoi-san._

* * *

Kuroko stood outside the mall, leaning on the pillar leisurely while waiting for Momoi. He wore a white shirt underneath his cream-coloured sweater along with jeans. They had agreed to celebrate together a few days ago, and truthfully, he wasn't really sure how they were going to celebrate it.

He yawned with his hand over his mouth. She had sent a message saying she was coming soon, thus he waited outside, just like the gentleman he was. He was about to look at his watch until he heard Momoi's voice call his name.

He stood properly, and looked at Momoi as she jogged slightly to him, her limousine getting further and further away.

"Good evening, Momoi-san," he said with a small smile on his face.

"Good evening to you too, Tetsu-kun," she replied in the same formal way, but laced with her unconditional love.

Wearing a light pink long-sleeved blouse with a white jacket and tights, she stood next to Kuroko, feeling like she was the happiest person in the world.

"Momoi-san, where do you want to go?" Kuroko asked.

She smiled and looked around before looking at Kuroko again but now with an uncertain smile on her face. "I'm not really sure..."

"That's alright. How about we just walk around first?"

Momoi agreed happily. They started walking and when Momoi saw a gift shop, she grabbed his arm out of excitement and said, "Look, Tetsu-kun! Let's go in!"

They both walked in, and saw different items on display. There were some cards, pretty boxes, small models of animated characters, and Momoi couldn't help being awed.

"Tetsu-kun! Look! This is so cute!" What was on her hand was an eye mask. She put it on and what Kuroko saw almost made him laugh. He smiled and bit his lip for a moment. She was wearing an eye mask decorated with thick-rimmed glasses and small circle eyes in the middle.

_Cute._

Cute was the word that came up to his mind the moment he saw her wear those eyes mask in her own ridiculously cute way. He looked at her, and saw that smile on her face while she kept posing in so many different ways. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

He gave a short chuckle, and to anyone, it might have seem like a scoff. He saw Momoi lift up one side of the eye mask and looked at Kuroko, surprise evident on her face.

"Yes, it is cute," he said. _And you are too._

Momoi just grinned sheepishly and felt a great amount of happiness rise in her chest.

_Did he just...?_

As they left the shop with the mask in her bag, she smiled to herself. She was sure he did, and she felt nothing but sheer happiness and a tad of pride.

Kuroko looked at his watch, 7.15 P.M. He looked at Momoi who was looking around with an excited smile on her face. He asked, "Momoi-san, do you want to have dinner together?"

She clasped her hands together in front of her with a bright smile on her face and said, "Yes! Of course!"

She was about to hug Kuroko but stopped, her hands in mid-air, when her phone rang. She fished out her phone from her bag and apologized to Kuroko with a sheepish smile.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Akiyama-san."

All Kuroko did was look around and sneaked some glances at Momoi. He looked, and noticed her smile was getting smaller. When the call ended. she looked at Kuroko with a sad smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, Tetsu-kun. My parents came home early today and they want me to go home now."

"Now?" He asked, confused. "Why?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I think they don't like the idea of me hanging out with a guy."

Kuroko tilted his head slightly. "I see. Then I'll walk you home. After all, we can't say 'no' to out parents, right?"

She giggled. "I guess so."

* * *

"How was the match with Ki-chan?" She asked, breaking the silence as they walked out the mall.

"It was...intense."

"Intense?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Yes. It was all thanks to Kagami-kun we won." Kuroko saw that Momoi was extremely intrigued. He gave a small smile. "It was only the first five minutes and Kagami-kun and Kise-kun were head-to-head with each other. If Kagami-kun did a fadeaway, Kise-kun would do it too."

"Ki-chan did that?!"

"Yes. Whatever Kagami-kun did, he would return it with more strength."

With a concern look on her face, she asked, "What happened after that?"

"Kagami-kun and I did a back tip."

Momoi's eyes brightened magnificently and Kuroko fought the urge to smile even wider.

"We passed the ball to each other, and the team." Kuroko looked up at the sky. "It wasn't just me doing the passing, Momoi-san."

Momoi closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. "I feel happy for you, Tetsu-kun."

"Thank you. For the second and third quarter, I...was resting." When Momoi tilted her head quizzically, he continued, "Kise-kun accidentally knocked me in the head and I woke up just when the fourth quarter had already started."

Momoi looked at him with a worried face. "What? Are you alright now?"

"Yes. The team brought me to a doctor after the match and he said that I would be fine in a few days."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Momoi-san."

They both continued walking, not minding the silence that had enveloped them. Kuroko would have preferred not continuing to tell about what had happened, but he said it anyway. Momoi was the only one who'd listen and share his happiness too.

"When we were just catching up to Kaijo's points, Kise-kun..." He paused, trying to find the right words to describe what he experienced. "He had something like a drive. His speed increased, his awareness on the court increased. And so did his strength."

Wide eyes, she said, "Does that mean he...?"

Kuroko nodded. "He said that he wouldn't lose to anyone. Not even to me."

"That's..." Her sentence was left hanging.

"... Yes," Kuroko agreed softly. "Then we won by doing the alley-oop during the last second of the game. After we won, Kise-kun cried."

Momoi looked at Kuroko expectantly.

"I saw the Kaijo team talk to him." Kuroko smiled. "Hopefully, he's changed."

Momoi smiled as well. "It'll be a good thing if he's changed."

"Yes it will."

Momoi looked at the sky and said, "Look, Tetsu-kun! It's the full moon!"

When Kuroko saw her pointing at the moon, he quickly put his hand on her arm and brought it down. "It's dangerous to point at the moon, Momoi-san."

Momoi hugged her hand and ignored the heat on her cheeks. "Dangerous? How?"

"People say that if you point to the moon and taunt it, you will wake up the next day with a cut behind your ear."

Momoi instantly grabbed Kuroko's arm. "What? Is it true?" She said quickly and nervously. "Tetsu-kun! What should I do? I'm scared!"

Kuroko stopped walking and faced the moon. "It'll be alright, Momoi-san. There's nothing to be afraid of. Just apologize sincerely to the moon."

Momoi instantly put her palms together and bowed her head while apologizing repeatedly. She stood near Kuroko, her fear not gone yet and Kuroko just let her be. "What makes you think it's true?"

Kuroko replied, "My friend did that when he was young. And the cut really did appear." Only when Kuroko saw Momoi's frightened face did he realized what he had just said made her even more scared. "It's alright, Momoi-san. I think it only happens when you're taunting it. After all, you didn't point at the moon on purpose, so if I was the moon, I would forgive you."

Momoi asked with a childish face, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll believe you," she said with a determined tone.

Somehow, Kuroko found it funny that she'll only believe it because it was he saying it.

Sometime later when they were nearing Momoi's house, she said, "Sometimes they scare me."

Kuroko moved his head slightly to he right to look at her. "Scare you? How?"

Momoi looked around nervously, trying to find the words. "Well... They all just want to win." She looked at the ground. "You said that Kise-kun had a drive and said that he wouldn't lose to anyone."

"Yes. The look in his eyes was..." He trailed off, unable to describe the look.

Momoi gave a dry laugh. "How much he wanted to win scares me."

Kuroko noticed they were already at Momoi's house.

"Tetsu-kun," she called. "Is it a good thing or...a bad thing?"

Kuroko looked at her eyes. "Momoi-san, Seirin will beat them. Once that happens, they'll love basketball again. Whatever that happens on the way is for the good."

She still looked doubtful. Before she could say anything, he said, "I will make them love basketball again, so trust me."

Momoi looked at him and slowly, a smile formed on her face. She nodded. "I'll be cheering for you, Tetsu-kun. Thank you."

Kuroko smiled. "Goodnight, Momoi-san."


End file.
